Tracking university jets on Twitter during the coaching carousel season is one of college football’s silliest, yet somehow still revered, traditions.
That tradition came to a screeching halt Thursday night when Twitter CEO Elon Musk personally announced a new company policy banning the practice.
Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation. This includes posting links to sites with real-time location info.
Posting locations someone traveled to on a slightly delayed basis isn’t a safety problem, so is ok.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 15, 2022
“Any account doxxing real-time location info of anyone will be suspended, as it is a physical safety violation,” Musk tweeted. “This includes posting links to sites with real-time location info. Posting locations someone traveled to on a slightly delayed basis isn’t a safety problem, so is ok.”
Musk made the change after a Twitter account shared the publicly available Federal Aviation Administration data on his private jet’s flight, which Musk equated to “sharing assassination coordinates.”
Needless to say, the college football world was quick to react to the death of a well-liked tradition:
Elon Musk just killed the best part of the college football coaching carousel. https://t.co/ENTxJL6RFe
— Kevin McGuire (@KevinOnCFB) December 15, 2022
“Elon Musk just killed the best part of the college football coaching carousel,” Kevin McGuire said.
So basically, Elon Musk was enraged because some kid did to him what college football fans did during coaching searches 20 years ago, because unlike an SEC athletic director he’s too dumb/vain to hire a charter service?
— Dawg Sports (@dawgsports) December 15, 2022
“So basically, Elon Musk was enraged because some kid did to him what college football fans did during coaching searches 20 years ago, because unlike an SEC athletic director he’s too dumb/vain to hire a charter service?” Dawg Sports tweeted.
Elon ruined a college coaching carousel staple because a popular twitter account tracked his plane. Spared you a TLDR https://t.co/sQeXoTX6Yf
— Mike Ryan (Ruiz) 🙌🏽 (@MichaelRyanRuiz) December 15, 2022
“Elon ruined a college coaching carousel staple because a popular twitter account tracked his plane. Spared you a TLDR,” Michael Ruiz tweeted.
That sound you're hearing is one million SEC Rivals message board fans screaming in agony now that university jet flights won't be tracked during coaching carousel season.
(I mean, they will, because this policy is going to be VERY SELECTIVELY ENFORCED, but.) https://t.co/3ZH3xQhkAh
— Jake McIntyre (@jakemcintyre) December 14, 2022
“That sound you’re hearing is one million SEC Rivals message board fans screaming in agony now that university jet flights won’t be tracked during coaching carousel season,” Jake McIntyre wrote. “I mean, they will, because this policy is going to be VERY SELECTIVELY ENFORCED, but.”
we might as well cancel football if people can no longer post flight tracking data during the coaching carousel season https://t.co/rGUHPFp2Wx
— Yahoo Sports College Football (@YahooSportsCFB) December 14, 2022
“We might as well cancel football if people can no longer post flight tracking data during the coaching carousel season,” Yahoo! Sports tweeted.
Only time will tell if Musk stays the course with his new policy.
[Elon Musk on Twitter; Musk photo from The Austin American-Statesman, via USA Today Sports]
